Door locking mechanism



Nov. 14, 1939. B. WALKER DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM original Filed Jan. Y6, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. raas Malia/z ORNEYS.

Nov. i4, 1939. Bi, WALKER 2,30,024

' DOOR LOCKING MEGHANISM Original Filed Jan. 6, 1953 3 Sheets-snee?I 2 IN V EN TOR.

A T RNE YS.

Nov. 14, w39. B. WALKER DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM original Filed Jan. e, 1953 3 sheets-sheet s TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. i4, 1939 DOOR LOCKING MIECHANISM Brooks Walker, Piedmont, Calif.

d Claims.

My invention relates to door locks and particularly to structure for simultaneously locking a plurality of doors from a point interior and exterior of a closure, and is a division of my application Serial No. 650,399, led January 6,y 1933, for Door locking mechanism, now Patentl No. 2,077,135, dated April 13, 1937.

The Structure of the present invention is utilized independent of the latching means ordinarily employed on doors, for engaging all of -the doors of a closure to securely lock the doors against opening. The locking structure is such that once the doors are locked and the key removed, it is impossible to unlock the doors either from the ing the doors from the inside of the closure through the manipulation of a suitable handle control to prevent entrance from the exterior thereof when the closure is occupied. While the closure herein shown is a vehicle body, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to bodies but applies to rooms and other types oi closures.

Accordingly, the main objects of my invention are: To provide interconnecting means across the top of a vehicle body between the .roof and the interior'top finishing element adjacent to locking bolts or fingers which extend into the roof rails above the door to be manipulated to extend into apertures in the door; to provide a locking structure, the spacing of the elements of which may be varied along the roof rails of the vehicle so as to engage the latching ends of the doors irrespective of whether the doors vare hinged together on the central pillar or one is hinged thereon with the other disposed to latch thereon; to provide a lock cylinder in the side quarter panel and roof rail which when turned actuates the interconnected structure and bolts to simultaneously move the bolts into the top sill of'the door; to provide mechanism for interconnecting the lock cylinder with the interconnected structure and bolts to provide a mechanical advantage to the system to permit a small force applied to the key to actuate the structure; to provide spring biased bolts for projecting through the roof rail into the doors which are thereby disconnected from the interconnected operating mechanism so that if one door is jammed through collision or otherwise, the mechanism may be operated to release `the other doors; to provide laterally movable structure in the roof rail to operate the sets of bolts to engage all of the doors through a longitudinal push or pull movement on an intercon- (Cl. l-264) necting element; to lock the doors through the engagement of the door dovetail to prevent it from being moved outwardly from the receiving lingers; to provide a key in a door having means thereon for operating the elements for intercepting the door dovetails; to provide a shaft on the handle of a lock which is constructed in such manner as to permit a counterclockwise turning movement through r90 degrees to operate a movable element into a position to intercept the door dovetails; to provide a lock on a door independent of the handle, which may be utilized for actuating `mechanism for locking all of the doors at the same time; to provide means interconnected with the mechanism which may operate the mechanism to lool: the doors interiorly of the vehicle; and, in general, to provide a simple and practical construction for locking all of the doors of a closure at the same time by means independent of latch bolts, which is simple in construction, economical of maunfacture and positive in operation.

Other objects and features of novelty of my invention will be either specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of my invention, to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken View in perspective, .of locking structure for a plurality of doors of a vehicle which embody features of my invention,

Fig. 1A is a view of a modified locking bolt which may be employed with the structure illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a structure, similax` to that shown in Fig. 1, illustrating a modied form thereof,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a further form of locking means for a plurality of doors of a vehicle, 4@

Fig. i is a perspective view of another modied form of construction which may be employed for locking all four doors of a vehicle,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a further modified form of construction for locking all four doors of a vehicle through the longitudinal movement of the locking chamber,v

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a broken sectional view of a vehicle body and doors illustrating locking means for the doors which embodies a further modied form of my invention,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a rack and bolt construction which may be employed in distance apart as illustrated in Fig. 1.

connection with the structure illustrated in Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a broken sectional view of door locking mechanism which embodies a further modified form of my invention,

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 9, taken on the line IIJ- I0 thereof,

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional View of the structure illustrated in Fig. 9, taken on the line II-II thereof,

Fig. 12 is a broken sectional view of a modified form of the structure illustrated in Figs, 9, 10 and 11,

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the actuating shaft illustrated in Fig. 12,

Fig. 14 is a broken sectional View of a lock and mechanism embodying a further modified form of construction for locking doors simultaneously, and

Fig. 15 is a broken View, in elevation, of structure employed in combination with that illustrated in Fig. 14, for locking the doors cn the opposite side of the vehicle.

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated a vehicle having side top rails 2li, front doors 2i and rear doors 22. The doors are supported on pillars 23 by hinges 24 so that the latching edges of the doors are disposed a greater distance apart, being adjacent to the front and rear pillars, respectively. Since the latching mechanism is to be so mounted as to engage the latching edges of the door, the locking bolts 25 must be disposed a maximum The bolts 25 of the structure illustrated in Fig. l, are the ends of rods 26 which are bent in arcuate shape about the center of the rods 26 which are supported on brackets 21. The central part of the rods are bowed upward at 28 to provide clear- Iance on the interior of the vehicle, and are employed as crank arms to be interconnected by a link 29 which is mounted on the rods and retained thereon against lateral movement by suitable means, such as cotter pins 3l, and causes the rods to be operated in unison. The rods project, in retracted position, through apertures 32 in the rails to substantially the under surface of the rails, and are disposed directly above an aperture 33 in the doors in which the ends of the bolts 25 project, when the mechanism is operated.

For operating the mechanism, I have provided a locking cylinder 34 which is mounted in the rail 20 above the door as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. The cylinder extends through the roof rail and is attached to an arm 35 pivo'ted to a link 36 which is in engagement through a pin and slot connection with the extension 31 which supports the bolt 25. 'Ihe portion 31 is moved downwardly when the key is turned to locked position in the cylinder. The movement of the one portion 31 causes the one rod 26 to turn and therefore the other rod 26 to be actuated through cranks 28and the link 29 to have all of the bolts 25 move downwardly to project into the apertures 33 in the upper door sills to thereby lock all of the doors. A handle 33 is mounted on the shaft 26 having a certain amount of play therewith through a pin and slot connection so that the key may be operated to its full operating position without operating the handle to its locked position and prevents the handle from being employed for actuating the bolts 25 to open position. However, the handle 38 is available when operated from the inside, to move the ngers 25 into locked position and to be retained 4| may be employed between the handle 38 and a collar 42 xed to the rod 26, to force the rod' against one side of the vehicle and the handle against the other side thereof to prevent rattling of the locking elements. The spring permits the movement of the handle 38 laterally over the pin 39 and thereafter aids in retaining the handle engaged thereby.

In the Fig. 1A, I have illustrated the extension 31 of the rod as being disconnected from a bolt 43 which has a spring 44 thereon for retrieving the bolt 43 against the extension 31. Certain advantages are provided by employing bolts 43 on all of the doors. When one of the bolts 43 is jammed due to a collision, to such a degree as to prevent its ordinary operation by a key or handle 38 the mechanism could still be operated to permit other of the doors to be unlocked.

In Fig. 2, I have illustrated a modied form of construction employing the bolts 43 and springs 44 wherein a cross rod 45 is utilized, preferably of square section, having crank arms 46 thereon which are anged at 41 for engagement with the bolts 43. The rod 45 is mounted on suitable brackets 48 to permit the turning of the rod 45 therein. For operating the rod, I have provided a disc 49 having a square hole 5| in offset center relation which is engaged by a rod 52 mounted in an extension of the lock cyclinder 34. A link 53 has an aperture which encompasses the disc 49 and a slot which engages a pin 54 provided on one of -the crank arms 46 to permit the operation of the handle 38 mounted loosely on the rod 45 in substantially the same manner as the handle 38 is operated on the rod 26 in the struc ture illustrated` in Fig. 1.

A second set of brackets 48 are provided adjacent to the edge of two other doors of the closure, having crank arms 46 thereon with the anges 41 thereof engaging the bolts 43. 'I'he second set of crank arms 46 on each side of the door are.connected to the first-mentioned crank arms by suitable link 55. The operation of the key in the lock cylinder 34 causes the cylinder extension 52 to be turned, which turning causes the link 53 to be drawn downwardly in View of the eccentric connection of the extension 52 with the disc 49. This causes the crank arm 46 to move downwardly and rotate the rod 45 which in turn rotates the crank arms on the opposite side of the closure. In this manner, the turning of the key and the rotation of the rod 52 causes all of the crank arms 46 to be rotated in a clockwisetherein by the passing of the handle 38 over the may 'Dev In Fig. 3, I have illustrated a further modified form of my invention wherein locking iingers 57 are in the nature of slidable racks which engage pinions 58 interconnected by a shaft 59 which is turned directly by a key in the cylinder lock 6|. Apertures 62 are provided in the latching edges of the door to receive the racks when the shaft 59 is rotated to cause a downward movement of the racks. A handle 38 is provided on the shaft on the interior of the vehicle for rotating the shaft 59 and when the handle is disposed over the 'pin 39, the doors are retained in locked position. A single spring 63 is provided about the shaft 59 having one end secured to the shaft and the other end retained by a bracket 64 which supports the shaft, to retrieve the shaft and retain the racks in retrieved position when the structure is moved to door unlocked position.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a further modied form of my invention wherein bolts S5 are mounted in the side rails of a vehicle top rail, having slots BB in the upper end thereof for receiving cross bars b1 which are retained by a suitable means, such as pins 68. Springs 59 are employed f or retrieving the bolts 65 and the bars 6'! to unlocked position while suitable cams 1l, mounted in aligned `relation on a rotatable shaft l?, are utilized for controlling the position of the bars therefore the bolts.

The shaft 12 is mounted on the top rails by suitable brackets 13, one of which is provided with a pin 39 to retain a handle 38 in locked .position in the hereinabove specified manner. A

suitable link 'lll is employed to engage the disc i9 or other means hereinabove described and not shown in the gure, to be actuated by rotation of the key in a lock cylinder to rotate the shaft 72 and the cams for moving the interconnecting bars 51 downwardly to carry the bolts t5 there-- with to lock all of the doors simultaneously.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a further form of my invention wherein a lock cylinder l5 is employed in the top side quarter panel of the vehicle body having an extending rodfib thereon in engagement with a ange 'il on the bell crank 18.

v One arm of the bell crank i8 is provided with a ange 79 for engaging a bolt d3, the other arm of which has an aperture for receiving a rod or cable 8i. The rod or cable 8l extends across the top of the vehicle body to engage an arm s2 or a bell crank having the other arm B3 thereof provided with a ilange T9 for engaging a bolt de on the opposite side of the body. The bell crank 'i8 is secured to a shaft 85 which 'is pivoted at each end on brackets 8S and hasv secured thereto an arm 8d on the opposite end thereof provided with a flange i9 for engaging a bolt 3.

A handle 88 is mounted with a predetermined amount oi play to the shaft 85 to be employed for actuating the shaft 35 in a clockwise direction when pulled outwardly from the side of the body. A pin 39 is provided to receive and retain the handle in outward position to cause the bolts 43 to be held in door locked position. On the opposite side of the vehicle the bell crank 33 is secured to a shaft BQ, the ends of which are supported in brackets 86 and which has an arm 81 secured to the opposite end thereof and provided with a ange ldfor engagement with a bolt 63. Through the inward movement of the lock cylinder'l and the turning of the keythereafter to retain the cylinder inward through the movement of an extension 90 thereon in an aperture @i provided within the lock cylinder recess,l as

clearly illustrated in Fig. 6, the locking of all four doors is accomplished.

The inward movement causes the bracket 18 to be rotated in a clockwise direction to cause the bell crank arm 82 to operate the arm 83 and to cause the arms 8l to be actuated through the shafts 85 and B9 to thereby have all of the doors locked simultaneously. The play in the connection between the handle 88 and the shaft prevents the engagement of the handle with the pin 39 and eliminates the possibility of employing the handle to release the bell crank and arms and also prevents the locking of the handle so that the operation of the lock cylinder with the key would not unlock the doors."

In Fig. 7, I have shown a modified form of the construction illustrated in Fig. 5 wherein the pushing of the lock cylinder 75 pushes directly upon an oiset rod 9d which is provided with oppositely disposed racks 95. The racks are in communication with spur gears 9S which are attached to shafts Sl which may, in a four door vehicle, be connected to an additional set of spur gears 96 (not shown) which communicate with rack bolts 98 for manipulating the bolts down- Wardly into engagement with the doors to lock two or four doors simultaneously. Suitable spring means 39 are employed for aiding in the retrieving of the bolts and retaining them in unlocked position. A suitable handle lill is connected to the rod St in such manner as to permit lateral relative movement therebetween, whereby the rod 9d may be moved to the right by means of the key operated means 'l5 without causing corresponding movement of the handle IDL When the handle lili is moved to the right as viewed in Fig. 7, it causes the rod 9d to move to the right therewith, so as to actuate the bolts $8 downwardly to locked position, whereby the vehicle may be locked from the interior thereof. An angle shaped element Mil is provided on the side of the rail for receiving the handle after it is moved against the rail to retain the bolts in locked position.

The bolts 98 may be constructed in accordance with the showing of Fig. 8 wherein a locking bolt |00 is biased by a spring All in the manner hereinabove described to have the bolt retrievable by the spring independent of the position of the rack 98. In this construction, should the bolt IUD jam due to a collision and the crushing of one of 'the doors, the rod 9d and its associated structure could readily be operated to withdraw the bolts from the other doors not sov jammed to permit the operation of the doors even though one should be jammed so badily as to prevent the retrieving of the bolt. l

' Referring to Fig. 9, I have illustrated a further` pillar of the door or on the front and rear pillars thereof, depending upon how the doors are hinged, and is connected through a rod 105 to suitable actuating mechanism H16 mounted at the top of the'car. It is to be understood that the plate H13, rod HB5 and mechanism H36 is provided on both sides of the vehicle interconnected by a rod d5. Arms lul of the actuating mechanism W6 are actuated by a lever 53 and lock 34 or handle n38 hereinabove described in regard to Fig. 2. Upon the turning of lthe key in the lock cylinder 3G, the rod |05 is moved downwardly to move the plate H33 into the path of movement of the door dovetail |02 to securely lock the doors against opening through the positioning of the plate |03 in the path of outward movement of the door dcvetail 02. Suitable springs |09 may be provided on the rod |05 for aiding in the retrieving of the rod and plate and for retaining the plate in retrieved position.

Referring to Fig. 11, I ha ve shown one method of supporting the plate 03 in a pillar ||I which is illustrated as being solid although the same mounting could be employed in a hollow pillar, wherein a slot ||2 is provided in which the plate |03 is longitudinally movable. A housing ||3 for retaining the dovetail clamping finger is modified to support the plate against lateral movement by suitable flanges ||4 which engages shoulders ||5 provided on the plate- Referring to Fig. 12, I have shown a further method which may be employed for actuating the slide |03 which is that in which the handle of the door for actuating the latching bolt thereof is movable in counter-clockwise direction from normal position to move an actuating element II6 outwardly of the door and upwardly of the post to engage a pin or other suitable element ||1 on the plate for moving the plateupwardly into a position to intercept the path of the dovetails |02. For obtaining the reverse movement of the handle without effecting the operation of the door latch bolt I I8, I construct the shaft I9 of the lock with curved surfaces |2| and with flat portions |22, as illustrated in Fig. 13. The roll back |23 is provided with arcuate edges |24 to permit the counter-clockwise movement of the shaft ||9 substantially 90 degrees, However, the clockwise movement of the shaft ||9 from the position illustrated in Fig. 13 causes the roll back |23 to rotate against a projecting arm |25 provided on the latch bolt |I8 to cause the latch to be retrieved from door-latched position.

On the square portion of the shaft I have provided an arm |26 which is rigidly connected thereto and which is out of the plane of the latch bolt ||8 to permit a clockwise movement thereof `90 degrees from the position illustrated. When the shaft is operated clockwise 90 degrees from the position illustrated, the latch bolt ||8 is moved rearwardly out of engagement with the recess in the pillar to permit the door to be opened as is the common practice. When, however, the shaft is moved 90 degrees counter-clockwise, from the position shown, the arm |26 engages the plate I6 to cause it to move outwardly and upwardly in view of its support on the pins |21 by means of the slots |28 which are disposed at an angle to the door. The projecting end |29 of the plate ||6 engages the pin ||1 and thereafter, due to its vupward movement, causes the plate |03 to move upwardly to intercept the path of movement of the door dovetails.

The fiat surface |3| provided on the arm |26, retains the plate in raised position and permits the handle to be locked preferably by disconnecting the handle entirely from the shaft ||9 which is the common practice to prevent the handie from being forced and to have the handle freely turnable relative to the shaft. Through the operation of the one plate |03 and the rod |05 the arm |01 is actuated which in turn actuates a similar arm |01, rod |05 and plate |03 on the opposite side of the vehicle througha suitable cross rod as hereinbefore described, to lock two or more doors of the vehicle through the single manipulation of the handle.

In Figs. 14 and 15, I have shown a further modied form of my invention wherein the lock cylinder is mounted in a door (not shown) independently of the handle, having a square extending shaft |32 thereon which is secured to a cam |33. The cam operates a lever |34 which is pivoted at |35 to the lock plate and which in turn operates a lever |36, likewise pivoted at |31 to the lock plate, in view of the interconnecting pivot |38. As a result of the clockwise movement of the cam 33, the lever |38 has its projecting flange |39 moved upwardly ,to move a rod |4| into engagement with a plunger |42 provided in the car rail 20, to operate a rocker bar |43 which causes the extending arm thereof to operate a bolt 43 into an aperture 33 in the adjacent door. The rocker bar is rigidly attached to a shaft |44 which extends across the top of the car and which is mounted in suitable brackets |45. Abell crank arm |40 is securely attached to the shaft |44 on the opposite side of the car, one arm of which is in engagement with a bolt 43, the other arm of which is pivotally connected by a link |41 to a similar bell crank arm |40 which operates a second bolt 43 in the manner hereinabove described.

In this construction, through the turning of the key in a clockwise direction the shaft |32 is rotated which rotates the cam |33 in a clockwise direction and causes the end |39 and the lever I 30 to be moved upwardly to move the rod |45 into a, recess in the pillar 20 to lock the door containing the locking mechanism. The movement of the plunger |42 upwardly causes the bolt 43 on the adjacent door to be actuated and through the rotation of the shaft |44 to operate crank arms |46 on theopposite side of the car to cause similar bolts 43 to be moved into 'engagement with the latch edges of the doors. A suitable handle |48 is pivoted between the panels of the door and extends through a plate |49 in the window ledge. The handle is connected through links |5I, |52, |53 and arm |54 to the lever |34. When the handle |48 is pushed forwardly the arm |54 is caused to rotate about the pin |35 to thereby move the vend of the lever downwardly out of engagement with the cam |33 to cause the upward movement of the ange |39 of the lever |36 to operate the door engaging bolts as above described. A suitable detent |55 is provided in the plate |49 for receiving and retaining the handle |48 in door locked position. A slot is provided in the link |53 which prevents the movement of the handle |48 when the cam |33 is actuated.

It will be noted that in all instances when the doors are locked from the exterior thereof, the handle provided for manipulating the lock from the interior of the door is ineffective for causing the release of the lock so that once the doors are locked against entrance from the exterior thereof, even though a window should be broken, the interior actuating handle could not be manipulated to cause the doors to be unlocked. This is due to the lost motion connection provided between the interior handle and the exterior locking means and which also prevents the manipulation of the interior handle through the exterior means which might cause it to engage its latch and prevent the unlocking of the doors from the exterior of the vehicle when the exterior lock is manipulated to unlocked position. While I have described and illustrated several embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions, additions and substitutions 75 may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as set forth in the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an automotive vehicle having a plurality of doors provided with dovetails, the combination with mechanism disposed across the vehicle and adjacent to the pillars thereof having portions movable into the path of the door dovetails, a latch bolt associated with one of said doors and a handle selectively movable in a bolt releasing direction for releasing said bolt, and means actuated by the handle when moved in a non-bolt releasing direction for actuating said mechanism.

2. The combination with a vehicle having a plurality of doors provided with dovetails, a latch bolt on each of said doors for normally holding them closed, mechanism capableof interceptng the` path of the dovetails of the doors for retaining them in door closed position, a handle on one of said doors for manipulating the latch thereon when turned in one direction for opening the door, means actuated by said handle effective when said handle is turned in another direction to operate said mechanism to intercept the path of said dovetailsof said doors, and means for rendering said handle ineffective for moving said mechanism from dovetail intercepted position.

I 3. Ilhe combination of a frame and a door hinged thereon, of a dovetail element on the door edge,movab1e means carried by said frame capable of intercepting said dovetail element to lock said door, a latch bolt o n said door for normally retaining saidv door closed, a latch bolt operatinghandle carried by said door, and means for operating said movable means by said latch bolt handle to lock said door through the nterception of said dovetail.

4. The combination of a frame and a door hinged thereon, of a dovetail element on the door edge, movable means carried by said frame capable of intercepting said dovetail element to lock said door, a latch bolt for normally securing said door in closed position, an outside latch 20 bolt operating handle carried by said door, and means for operating said movable means by said outside handle for intercepting said dovetail element.

BROOKS WALKER. 25

Patent No. 2,180,024 Granted Novembvr 14.y 1935 BROOKS WALKER Ther above entitled patent was extended July 24, 1951, under tho provisions of the act of June 30, 1950, for 6 years and 214 days from the expiration of the original term thereof.

Commissioner 0 f Patents. 

